Aguared V. 0.01 - User Manual

Aguared V. 0.01 - User Manual

Getting Started:

Use the Project wizard to walk through the creation of a new project. If you cannot find the wizard starting up when you open the program then navigate to File/New.

Starting an Aguared project can proceed in two ways: from data exported from EPANET as well as fresh data from GPS units.

1. Creating an Aguared Project from GPS data:

Here we have three sets of data which can be imported from the GPS unit to make up the project:

1.  Trackpoints

2.  Waypoints (Optional)

3.  Correction for the Trackpoints (Optional)

From GPS unit:

The data can also be loaded from previously imported GPS data saved in files. Example:

In this window, COM1 indicates the serial port of the computer. (Future versions of Aguared will be able to handle USB connections as well). Check the export Trackpoints/Waypoints checkbox if you want to save the GPS data in text files (always recommended; can be used by other projects). If there are no waypoints to be imported, be sure to not check the checkboxes.

Click Begin once you have made the changes to start importing information from the GPS unit.

Loading GPS data from Text files:

This is quite straightforward and involves only loading the files from your hard disk/ other memory storage.

When converting the survey data to the network, the default options are useful because it helps the program to generate the network and eliminating repeated survey points and connecting the points based on their times stamps which requires that the survey be conducted on that basis to accommodate this.

Correction of trackpoints can be done subsequently at a later stage in a project as well from the Tools menu.

Manipulation of the Network:

Once when a network has been created, Aguared displays it in the following manner, on the right side is the display window which has the network drawn in it. The user can toggle what kind of information that they would want displayed by clicking View on the top toolbar. The View menu can also be used to switch to a side projection view which will enable the user to see the network and study the altitude changes. To move around within the display window bring the focus onto it by clicking on it and then one can pan by using the arrow keys and zoom in and out by scrolling using the wheel in a mouse. Alternatively one can zoom in and out using the buttons provided on the lower left side. The grids are marked according to fixed distance and the colored points mark nodes with different colors signifying a type of node. ( Yellow: Reservoir; Red: Junction; Light Blue: Tank; Green: Taps; Dark Blue: Valves)

On the right side we have tabular information about the network arranged in tabs. We can select multiple elements and make group edits by selection from the table or from the grid. For example here we are group selecting three nodes which can be subsequently modified by right clicking and selecting “Edit Selection”. It is also possible to order the different columns in the data grids by clicking on the column headers. One can also use the maximized view of the data from View menu, selecting “View Data”

Toggling between the and buttons enables selection within the grid on the basis of nodes or pipes. We can examine the properties of the pipes by again right clicking on the pipes.

Using the buttons, design modifications can be made to the network graphically which will allow the user to create pipes and nodes. To delete a elements is also simple, allowing the user to select and then pressing the delete button.

Materials Database and Global Settings:

The Materials database can be accessed by going to the Materials menu and selecting “Edit Materials”.

The materials database initially contains some default values which can be easily modified. All the data is shown using SI units unless specifically mentioned. Within the materials database one can Add, Edit and Delete materials as well as toggle their availability which will prevent the use of that material in designs created by the Aguared (for example with the Transmission line). The Materials Database is organized into tabs which consist of Pipes Materials, Tanks, and Valves and Taps which can be modified for different projects.

Global settings can be made to the project by enabling certain materials within the project by going to the Edit menu and then going to the Materials tab in the “Project Preferences” section.

Exporting the Network:

The network can be exported to the EPANET format enabling it to be run with the EPANET software by selecting the “Export to EPANET” option in the Export section of the File drop down menu. This can be particularly useful since EPANET is not able to handle GPS data.

Automated Tool Modules:

1.  Designing the transmission line:

To design the transmission line the following requirements must be satisfied:

i. A network which contains one reservoir and one tank.

ii.  The transmission line segment from the reservoir and the tank can only be a straight line. (no loops, branches)

Once these conditions have been met then the transmission line can be designed by going to the Tools menu and selecting “Design Transmission Line” which will open up a dialog box prompting for the user to input a design flow rate for the transmission line which again uses SI units (cubic meters per second). Then the user needs to click on the reservoir node which will highlight the pipes of the transmission line as was determined by the program. Then the user may click “OK” to generate the network.

The output of the design can be seen from the Data Grid tables as well as right clicking from the Graphical Display. The design can be run many times on the same project without any side effects for different flows etc.

The transmission line designed minimizes the cost of the materials used to design the pipeline satisfying the flow constraints.

2.  Simulation of the network:

3.  Report Generation:

Contents

-  Overview

-  Step-by-step instructions to generate a report

-  Step-by-step instructions to print the network to a jpeg file

-  “F”AQs

-  Comments for future developers of Aguared

Overview

AguaRed has built-in report-generation features. Reports can be output for three types of data: nodes data, pipe data, and general data. “Node data”/”Pipe data” is information pertaining to all the nodes/pipes in the network for which reports are being generated. This network corresponds to the project which the currently has open. “General data” consists of metadata pertaining to the project (i.e. project name, author, date of creation, and comments).

A single tab-delimited text file is generated for each type of data. The user will be asked to name the output file just before the report is generated. The file can then be opened in MS Excel, and the output data will be fit into columns automagically.

The report generation features also allow users to save presets for their reports. This will be useful because it saves users from having to re-select which information they’d like to see in their reports each time they want a report; they can simply load a saved preset instead. This feature is documented in more detail below.

Lastly, users can print a copy of the network they see on the screen to an image file in JPEG format.

Step-by-step instructions to generate a report

To generate a report, follow the following procedure:

1. Click Reports à Generate… This will open the “Generate Report” window:

2. Select the tab that corresponds to the type of information you wish to output and check the boxes that correspond to that information. For this example, let us assume that we want to generation information about pipes. Thus, we click the Pipes tab and check the boxes we want to:

3. Click the “Save Pipe Report” button to output and save the information to a text file. (the button is differently named in the “Nodes” and “General” tabs, but the functionality is exactly the same). No particular file extension is necessary to open the file in MS Excel.

4. When you are finished with outputting the information you want, you may click “Done” to close the “Generate Report” window. However, you might wish to save which checkboxes you checked so that they can be reused in the future without you having to remember exactly which boxes you checked. To do this, enter the name you wish to give the preset in the text box next to the “Add Preset” button, then click the “Add Preset” button. The name cannot contain spaces or other illegal file name characters. If you click on the drop-down box at the bottom left of the window, you will see that the preset is listed. Clicking it will remove all checks on the current tab and load those saved in the preset.

Step-by-step instructions to print the network to a jpeg file

1.  Click Reports à Print. This will open up a dialog box which lets you choose a name and directory for the image file. Do not click “Save” yet.

2.  After entering a name for the image file, move the dialog box to a position where none of it overlaps with the network window below it. Then click “Save”. For instance, positioning the dialog like this would work, and the screen shot below it shows an unacceptable configuration:

Good:

Bad:

Note: we’re sorry you have to go through step 2, but we were having problems with the OpenGL code to take bytes from what’s displayed on screen. If you don’t move the save dialog box out of the way of the network before clicking its “Save” button, the dialog box will also be shown in the JPEG.

“F”AQs

What do the ID fields mean (e.g. Node ID, SID, Material ID, etc.)?

The ID’s in the report generation windows refer to the IDs used by the database for individual objects, such as nodes, pipes, schedules, etc. They are primarily a tool to help the internal organization of the network.

Why are some checkboxes grayed out in the report generation window?

These boxes are grayed out because a simulation has not yet been run (notice that all of those boxes pertain to simulation-based data). Once you run a simulation, the window will allow you to check those boxes.

Where and how are presets are saved?

All presets are saved in the /Report Presets/Nodes or /Report Presets/Pipes directories. They have a .pre extension. You may delete presets from these directories if you’re sure you don’t want them, but only do so while AguaRed is not running.

Comments for future developers of AguaRed

This section contains information that might be useful to anyone who wants to change, add to, re-design, or drop the features outlined in this document.

-  ReportDialog.cs and ReportDialod.resx are the main files you need to look at. It would probably also help to look at the classes in /Network/Types and the Network class. ReportDialog.cs contains some useful comments that you might want to read before making changes.

-  All checkboxes and field names are hard-coded in the “Nodes” and “Pipes” tabs; the report dialog is about as knowledgeable as it can be about the classes that make up the network. This is not a good thing

-  The checkboxes on the “Nodes” and “Pipes” tabs are named based on the field names they correspond to. These field names come from the Node, Pipe, and InnerNode classes, as well as all classes that directly inherit from InnerNode (Junction, Reservoir, Tank, Tap, Valve).

-  The “General” tab checkboxes are dynamically generated. Right now the checkboxes generated correspond to the project’s metadata entered when the project was created

We hope that AguaRed will move from a fairly hard-coded, monolithic program to a more modular piece of software in the future. As this process takes place, it would be wise to create a Reports module that separates the actual data from the GUI. The Reports module will be responsible for creating an appropriate data model. For example, it could generate a series of “sections” that contain “fields.” ReportsDialog will then be responsible for dynamically translating from this data model to an interface for outputting the data. Whatever model is ultimately decided upon makes little difference; separating data from presentation (and program logic) is the main goal for the next phase of AguaRed development.

Glossary:

Correction Trackpoints: Location data which are taken at a fixed location throughout the duration of the survey used to correct the the altitude data of the trackpoints taken in the survey

Trackpoints: Location data taken (automatically) by the GPS unit while walking along a path in the survey. The trackpoints give an approximation of where the pipes are going to be installed.

Waypoints: Location data points taken (manually) by the surveyor on the GPS unit marking off features such as the location of a tank, houses etc.